After the Lyhanna Case: Justice System Reviews 88,000 Cases of Sexual Violence Against Minors

Paris – 14 July 2026: One month after the Lyhanna case, France’s justice system remains under pressure. According to information from the public prosecution service, around 88,000 ongoing cases involving suspected sexual violence against minors have been identified and reviewed as a priority nationwide. A prosecutor said they could not risk a second case like Lyhanna’s.

The trigger was the death of the eleven-year-old schoolgirl from Fleurance in the Gers department. Lyhanna disappeared after school on 29 May 2026, and her body was found on 4 June. A suspect who had previously been named in three proceedings concerning sexual offences involving minors has been held in pre-trial detention since 1 June. The investigation is ongoing.

The case raised serious questions about the handling of earlier reports. On 22 June, the Ministry of Justice published a preliminary report by the inspections involved. It retraces how a complaint filed in August 2025 over the suspected rape of a child was initially handled in Toulouse before later being transferred to the competent public prosecutor’s office in Auch.

On 8 June, Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin instructed prosecutors general to count ongoing cases involving suspected sexual offences against children and to give particular priority to cases in which the children concerned are still minors. Police and gendarmerie units are also to inform public prosecutors’ offices immediately of complaints and reports, so that protective measures and urgent investigations can be ordered swiftly.

The figure of 88,000 illustrates the scale of the task. At the end of June, the ministry had still referred to 70,000 cases. According to media reports, these include 7,452 files concerning serious offences in which a person suspected of responsibility is known. No nationwide, standardized final assessment of the review was available on Tuesday morning.

For public prosecutors’ offices, the operation primarily meant a new order of urgency: if contact continues between a child and a suspected person, action should be taken first. According to the latest figures published at the time, 134 people had been placed in pre-trial detention by 22 June over suspected sexual violence against minors. Other cases led to new criminal investigations.

The Lyhanna case is therefore more than a single investigation. It has drawn attention to files that can wait a long time to be processed in the daily routine of an overburdened criminal justice system. The review now ordered cannot undo past failures. But it is intended to prevent warning signs from being overlooked again and children from being left without the protection they need.